The new BMW M5 is in record fever. On 11 December 2017, instructor Johan Schwartz performed a sustained drift at the BMW Performance Center in Greer, South Carolina, in the new BMW M5, covering exactly 374.2 kilometres on a so called skid pad, thereby setting a new GUINESS WORLD RECORD for the longest drift in eight hours. Schwartz shattered the previous record by 230.1 kilometres. A custom-built refuelling system developed by BMW in collaboration with the North Carolina-based company Detroit Speed made it possible to drift continuously without a break for the full eight hours as required by the GUINESS WORLD RECORDS.
This enabled the BMW M5 to be refuelled during the drift in the same way that fighter jets can refuel in mid-flight – though in this case the operation was performed by hand: a second BMW M5 driven by the Chief Driving Instructor of the BMW Performance Center, Matt Mullins, accompanied the record-breaking M5. Mullins adapted to Schwartz’s drifting speed, allowing Matt Butts of Detroit Speed to carrying out the refuelling operation, secured by a safety tether that permitted him to straddle the space between the two moving vehicles by leaning out of the rear window of the second car. A second Guinness World Record was awarded for the longest twin vehicle water-assisted drift: Schwartz and Mullins drifted together for one hour, covering a total of 79.3 kilometres.